Democrats' losses ran wide, deep

• In South Carolina, Republicans finally picked off the one GOP-leaning House district that had eluded them year after year, as state Sen. Mick Mulvaney defeated House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, leaving Rep. Jim Clyburn as the state’s lone Democrat in Congress. State Rep. Nikki Haley’s win in the governor’s race kept the seat in GOP hands, and Sen. Jim DeMint easily won a second term. Republicans also expanded their influence in Columbia, picking up three seats in the state House, giving them a 75-48 edge, and holding a 27-19 advantage in the state Senate.

• North Carolina’s Legislature is under GOP control for the first time in more than a century. Republicans picked up 15 seats in the state House and gained 11 in the state Senate. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue wasn’t on the ballot, but Republican Sen. Richard Burr easily dispatched his challenger, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. In congressional races, Republicans had hoped to defeat freshman Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell, but he prevailed. Their lone pickup will likely come in the Raleigh-area 2nd District, in which Republican Renee Ellmers holds a 2,000-vote edge over Rep. Bob Etheridge, although the Democrat has requested a recount.

• New Hampshire saw both of its congressional districts flip back to the GOP thanks to victories by former Rep. Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta’s defeat of Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. Kelly Ayotte easily posted a win in her Senate race, but perhaps the most amazing gains were in the Legislature. Republicans gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers — 297 of 400 seats in the state House, the most since 1984, and 19 of 24 Senate seats, the most since 1962.

• Montana didn’t have much top-of-the-ticket action, but the shift statewide was historic: For the first time since 1953, Republicans gained control of both legislative chambers, to hold 67 of 100 House seats and 31 of 50 Senate seats.

• South Dakota saw once-promising Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin fall to GOP rising star Kristi Noem. No Democrat could muster enough courage to challenge Sen. John Thune, and GOP Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard easily succeeded fellow Republican Mike Rounds. Just six Democrats are left in the 35-member state Senate, and Republicans hold 51 of the 70 state House seats.

• Michigan Republican Rick Snyder rolled to a gubernatorial win, benefiting from term-limited Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s unpopularity. Republicans also took over two Democratic House seats, defeating Rep. Mark Schauer and winning retiring Rep. Bart Stupak’s seat in the 1st District. The GOP consolidated its power in the Legislature, gaining control of the House by picking up more than 20 seats, and increasing its majority in the Senate by four.